About Me – Why I Chose Funeral Service Photography

My name is April. To me, life is a beautiful story – It has a beginning, a middle and an ending.

Throughout the years, I’ve photographed children, high school seniors, pets, models, weddings, newborns, and family portraits – virtually every chapter of life.

The Last Chapter Funeral Service Photography by El Paso Memorial Photographers was established when I received a unique phone call from a desperate woman asking me if I could help her with an unusual request – tomorrow.

“What can I do to help you?” I asked.

She explained to me that her best friend’s infant daughter had passed away and the Mom wanted a photographer to be present at the funeral service. The 12 week old infant was Mom’s miracle baby. Mom had been told that she would never be able to have children so she she began documenting her little girl’s existence from the time she found out she was pregnant, from her birth through her tender first weeks of life and now, she was gone.

It is an awesome responsibility to document emotions, love, support, friendship, and last memories of one’s life. I was honored to be invited to share this time with them.

I arrived at the funeral home at the same time as the family and was introduced around as “the photographer.” The baby’s grandmother gave me a disapproving look as I shook her hand.

“Ma’am, I want you to know that I’m not here to interfere. I won’t be obtrusive. I’m only here to document the things Mom thinks she won’t remember, like the flowers and the memorial display.” I said.

Admittedly, I was a little hesitant to photograph people in such a sensitive and delicate time of mourning for a baby but quickly realized the importance of having a tangible memory of that unique experience.

Mom had requested to spend some last time with her little girl before the service began and asked that “the photographer” be sent in immediately. I took a deep breathe, put my camera around my neck and quietly opened the chapel door. Inside, Mom sat in the first pew in front of a stained glass window.

Photographs have a powerful effect on our lives.

They have the amazing ability to recall a moment frozen in time and share it with others. Only a photograph can capture the singularity of a particular occasion and make that moment permanent, affording us the opportunity to remember it over and over again. Through photographs, we have a record not only of our past, but of our present as well. These images not only recall the emotions and experiences of what was happening in the picture but they also conjure up countless other memories as well.

It is for this reason that The Last Chapter was created: to be a supreme witness and recorder of the life of a loved one, and share their story with the world.